despedidas.

we said goodbye today.

to the teachers at casita who had become our mentors and like family.
to the kids who stole my heart.
to the place where we’ve spent the last two months.
to the dishes that we dry each afternoon.
to the wall that is freshly painted.
to the halls that we’ve heard reverberate with screams and laughter, tears and conversation.

it was hard but it was beautiful. when we first got there, loida asked us to wait in the entranceway. after about 15 minutes, dámaris came and brought us into the building where the kids were all waiting at tables and a paper train led up to the front of the room. we followed behind eva and daniela, dressed in typica and dancing to a traditional song and were led to the seats of honor. we were presented with cards stamped with the kids hands and a framed thank you card. the kids sang and danced for us. mike was brought to the front of the room and we sang happy birthday. we ate. and ate and ate and ate. (tostadas and tres leches and pancho. oh my yumminess.)

we spent the morning playing with our kids. then we said goodbye. there were a lot of hugs, and lot of warm wishes, a lot of tears.

during lunch, daniela turned to me with a mouth full of spaghetti and asked, “seño…nos quiere mucho?” (do you love us a lot?). i answered with “muchisimo.” more than a lot.

as we were walking out of the building, josé chased me down, clung to my leg and said he loved me. i hate leaving him. i hate leaving all of them.

we have one last weekend here at SETECA. we’re spending monday, tuesday, and wednesday out at panajachel, a touristy but apparently breathtaking town out on lake atitlán. we’ll pack thursday and be on our way on friday. i’ll be home next saturday. i don’t know where the time went.

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